After all, NHL teams have showcased plenty of throwback action in the opening week of the new season, providing renewed hope for fans longing for the free-flowing, high-scoring days of the 1980’s and early 1990s.

It’s way too early to suggest the goal-scoring bonanza will continue long-term, but it sure has been fun so far.

On Monday, the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks combined for 11 goals. On Saturday, Colorado and Dallas did the same in a back-and-forth, last-shot-wins contest. On the opening night of the season, the Battle of Alberta also turned into an 11-goal outburst. We’ve seen Toronto’s Auston Matthews score four goals in his NHL debut against Ottawa — and still lose. Boston’s Brad Marchand has delivered a five-point night, while Detroit’s Mike Green and Colorado’s Joe Colborne have also registered their first career hat tricks.

Before Tuesday’s games, NHL teams had combined for 6.5 goals per game — a dramatic jump from the average of 5.42 during the 2015-16 season — and the highest since clubs potted 7.26 goals per game during the 1992-93 campaign. That was the season Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny topped the league with 76 goals and Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux won the scoring title with 160 points. The all-time high water mark is 8.02, set during the 1981-82 season, when Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky topped the best-ever charts with 92 goals and 212 points.

So, what’s happening now?

“That’s a good question,” Ottawa Senators centre Derick Brassard said before Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. “We were all talking about that (in the dressing room), looking at the boxscores.”

Brassard needs look no further than his former team, the Rangers, who went into Tuesday’s games tied with the Edmonton, at a league-high 14 goals through four games.

There are numerous theories for the early fireworks, including the fact that teams are still ironing out the finer details of their defensive systems — sound familiar, Senators fans? — meaning there’s more open ice available.

Power plays are clicking at a 20.2% success rate. The last time NHL teams finished a season above 20% overall was back in 1989-90, when Brett Hull of St. Louis scored an NHL-best 72 goals and Gretzky, then playing for Los Angeles, had a league-high 102 assists.

The influx of so many teenagers around the league has added speed and skill, but perhaps not the same attention to defensive detail as the veterans they’ve replaced.

“There’s an adjustment for every team in the league, even if it’s pretty much the same team with the same coach coming back,” said Brassard. “In the first two weeks, teams are going to do a lot of video, talking about playing systems. It’s going to get a bit tighter in the next few weeks.”

That’s also the general sentiment of TSN analyst Ray Ferraro. The hockey fan in Ferraro would love to see more end-to-end action, but he also recognizes that modern-day coaching is about emphasizing defence first.

“I want to wait a month to see if things are really different,” said Ferraro. “It’s probably a combination of maybe some teams being a little bit looser than normal at the start, and maybe because some of the young guys are flying out of the gate. They have all that adrenalin and the high skill is contributing to it.”

Senators fans received yet another taste of that youth movement Tuesday, as Arizona brought with them 18-year-old Jakob Chychrun, 19-year-olds Lawson Crouse and Dylan Strome and 21-year-olds Max Domi and Anthony Duclair.

Only a week ago, Toronto opened the season at Canadian Tire Centre boasting Matthews and Mitch Marner, both 19, along with 20-year-old William Nylander and 22-year-old Connor Brown.

More and more, it’s becoming a younger man’s game and maybe, just maybe, that means scoring will rise as a result. Ferraro, though, is throwing up a caution sign for those expecting all the young speedsters to change the game completely.

“The skill is undeniable,” he said. “But it’s a fantasy for all of us to think that NHL teams are going to play like the North American (under-23) team.”